Chronos Sphere
by Fearforget
Summary: There is more than just the world of Xena and Gabrielle. Some realities change the rules. And Chronos the god of time is very interested in the two worlds. He will bring them together into one.
1. Chapter 1

The Warrior Princess Xena stared at the sparking and a little bit miffed campfire in front of her. As if scolding her for lack of wood, its ember glowed with animosity. That couldn't fight the lightness that Gabrielle brought to the night as she pondered and hmmed an awful lot. Xena just grinned and waited. She knew she'd hear what went on inside the pretty bard's blonde head sooner or later.

Sure enough, Gabrielle sighed and suddenly exploded, "Xena, what is the meaning of life? I mean, where are we all going? A tree can fall in the woods, but if no one is around then does it make a sound?"

Xena bit back a smile. "Of course. Thud."

Gabrielle shot Xena a withering look. "No. Maybe not. Because if no one can hear then does sound exist?"

Xena shook her head. "It's the height of human hubris, Gabrielle, to think that just because no one is around means there's no sound to exist. I mean, what about animals? Birds? Snakes."

"No!" Gabrielle said getting agitated. "That's _not_ what I meant at all! It's just . . . staring at this campfire, watching it over and over again. Does time ever stand still? Are we watching the fire or is it watching us?"

Xena quickly grabbed her sword and turned her attention to it. This conversation looked like one where Gabrielle would get so frustrated with Xena she'd end up snapping one of her scrolls over the warrior princess' head. It was best for Xena to keep quiet. Though her friend's questions weren't new. Ever since she left her village to follow Xena, she had been asking questions. Right now the on hiatus amazon queen and currently philosopher about trees and fire was agitated as if she knew something important was going to happen. Though Xena didn't quite believe in her friend's gift of prophecy.

And nothing remotely interesting would happen in the next few days. The only thing on their agenda was to travel through bandit infested territory and take the high road so they could avoid them. It turned Xena's stomach, but this pass was known as the territory of Thoon the giant. He was born only ten feet tall instead of the normal twenty and he hadn't grown much since his birth. Being the smallest giant in all of Greece made him angry and mean. He and his goons ambushed every traveler who went this way, and Xena, though it sounded like an afternoon for herself, wanted to keep Gabrielle out of the way of giants.

Xena went back to the fire and took care of her sword while Gabrielle asked more questions like did she think therefore she was or some such nonsense, and Xena just listened, knowing that Gabrielle probably knew more about this life than Xena ever would know.

Somewhere across the empty blackness between dimensions, another warrior princess held her smirk as Gabrielle the bard of Potadeia and currently on hiatus amazon queen decided what her purpose in life was. "I was meant to be a warrior," she said twirling her staff. "Life is an adventure to be chewed up and spit out."

"Sounds like life is a lot like my cooking," the warrior princess said and laughed, twisting her sword through the air. Unlike the two warriors at the beginning of this, they were far from relaxing for the night. "We probably should get some rest. Tomorrow we're going through Thoon's territory. And you know how the big bully hates ambushes."

"Especially when he's on the receiving end," Gabrielle joked. "Alright, Callisto. I'll stop practicing if you will."

Callisto chuckled and sat down next to the dying campfire. "Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't been the one to find Draco's men and stop them before they sold you as a slave."

Gabrielle shuddered. "It was lucky you were there on you way to get vengeance on that nasty Xena." She gave her a friendly grin, and the two shared a companionable silence as sleep claimed them.

Now between space and time, a god watched both sets. He was hungry, and he needed war.


	2. Chapter 2

The bandits in Thoon's employ were simple sorts. When Thoon told them to loot, they looted. When Thoon told them to fight they did. And when he told them that Xena the Warrior Princess was taking the high road above them and to ambush both her and her sidekick, they did so, even if it meant most wouldn't make it home to supper . . . ever.

So it was a simple gang who lurked in the trees above the high road that Xena and Gabrielle traveled on, and it would be good to note that many were counting their fingers and toes and making last wills and testaments.

But when Xena and Gabrielle passed under them, they attacked and would indeed have to count their toes and fingers again.

"Why does this happen?" Gabrielle yelled, twisting her staff into two goons' heads at once.

"For once, I'm not sure," Xena answered. "There was no way they could have known we were going above them." She did her battle cry and spun around, hitting three of the goons with her fists.

"Wrong, Xena," Thoon yelled. He had walked up as they fought, grinning like an idiot. "I know everything!"

Xena rolled her eyes and backhanded some more nearby men. "Thoon, you ain't smart enough to know one plus one let alone my travelling plans. Who told you?"

Thoon growled but didn't answer. Xena couldn't ask him further questions, because suddenly her skin tingled with the kind of power she had never felt before. The very air around her wiggled as if it was being squeezed. Then the sound she wished never to hear, the sound that took a little bit of her life away every time she heard it echoed throughout the still air. Gabrielle was screaming.

In surprise, Xena turned around to see who had gotten the jump on her friend, only to see empty air, and the guys that Gabrielle was fighting already unconscious on the ground. "What in Tartarus?" Xena exclaimed and then turned to Thoon who gave her a nasty grin.

"Where is she?"

"Hm, I don't know. If you want to guess, though I'd bet you could come up with at least two suspects." Thoon wrinkled his oversize gray and bald forehead and hitched up his furry briefs. "Go on guess!"

"Ares, of course!"

"Wrong!"

Xena gritted her teeth. The only other villain that would be bold enough to kidnap Gabrielle was Callisto. But she was trapped in that lava river. There was no way . . . Suddenly she felt like her insides were boiling into a twisting chasm of burning chaos.

She wouldn't let out her own scream. She had long ago learned how to deal with pain and she internalized it into some place that was probably overflowing by now. But the pain ended just as fast as it had begun. But when she looked around . . . there was nothing. Just empty space.

Meanwhile . . . Callisto the Warrior Princess . . . Okay, as weird as it is, that's her name across the space and time void. She and Gabrielle were lying in wait much the same as the bandits were in Xena's world. Gabrielle shot her a grin from her location on a broad branch and tightened her callused hands against her staff.

Callisto made sure that all her jangles of chainmail were settled. The last thing she wanted was to give warning to Thoon's men. Then as the sun shot down through the many leaves, she saw the gray helmets of Thoon's men passing underneath. "Now," she mouthed to Gabrielle, and the two dropped as silently as falling leaves. The men were in chaos.

The noise of staff against bone and sword slicing flesh filled the silent area. Callisto chuckled. "That's what you get for robbing from the innocent and defenseless," she said and kicked the behind of a man who was running away.

"Ah, Callisto, always lecturing with your fighting." Thoon walked up the dusty path and leaned up against the tree, his head hitting an otherwise tall branch.

"You're next, Thoon," Callisto said and Gabrielle and she posed, Callisto's sword out and Gabrielle's staff solid against the ground. Anyone could tell you that they struck an impressive sight with all that blonde hair and those midriffs exposed to the world.

"I'm oh so scared. I bring message from one of your enemies."

"Which one?" Callisto asked.

"Um, just wait . . . any minute now."

Callisto didn't like this one bit. Most of the enemies she faced fought or ran. They didn't _wait_. But Thoon had an expectant look about him. Just as Callisto was about to force him to tell her—all Tartarus broke loose. Gabrielle was screaming—and then right before her eyes, Gabrielle turned inside out, so her face with blood and muscles were on the outside and then her whole body twisted and turned into a hole of nothingness. Then she was gone.

Callisto turned savage eyes towards Thoon, and he stepped back, ready to run under her glare, but he didn't as he said, "Guess which villain hates you so much that they'd take your one reason for good away from you?"

Callisto gritted her teeth. "Xena. I knew that lava river wouldn't hold someone like her long," she spit, but could say nothing more—could do nothing more, because pain encased her body, and she guessed her own was doing what Gabrielle's did. But even as she screamed in rage, she smiled. Wherever she was going, it had to be where Gabrielle was too.


	3. Chapter 3

Gabrielle, well the two Gabrielles, appeared in a very different location from where they expected. When the whole inside out body thing occurred, sure it was painful, but the two had already started thinking about how to describe the pain in the scroll they would write about it sometime down the line—if they survived this. But what they wrote in their imaginary scroll was that they appeared inside a horrible temple to a dark god. Instead, they both plopped down into a beautiful forest with sunshine spilling down in a lovely rain of sunlight. Neither noticed that the sun stayed frozen in that form because both were staring at the other.

The Gabrielle that was Xena's sidekick felt unsettled because this stranger seemed very similar to the appearance she had in those mirrors she had seen, when she and Xena were lucky enough to stay in an inn for the night, and in the lakes and rivers she passed when the sun beat down right—not that she was obsessed with her looks or anything. Of course, Gabrielle couldn't really tell what she looked like because those mirrors were awful, and the lakes ripply. But still . . . she had the most unsettling feeling who she was looking at was exactly how she really looked.

Callisto's sidekick, Gabrielle—oh, let's just call her Gabby for the sake of identification. Gabby was just as unsettled, and both just stared at each other for a minute or so, until Gabby swore and then said, "Oh gods did that hurt!"

Gabrielle suddenly scowled and said, "Hey, watch the language," causing Gabby to roll her eyes.

"Hey, I just got kidnapped from out of nowhere, and now I'm in some forest. I think that calls for a little foul language, okay?"

"You, too?" Gabrielle asked. "What's your name?"

"Gabrielle."

Gabrielle blinked and then said, "Nice name. Mine too. But you can't really be Gabrielle. I mean, me. You look like me, but if you were like Meg or Diana, you'd have a different name."

Gabby pursed her lips. "Okay, Ares?" She spun around to look for someone, Gabrielle guessed Ares, but nobody appeared.

"Why are you calling for Ares?" Gabrielle asked. "He won't just appear even if he was behind this. Just calm down."

"I don't want to calm down! Someone took me away from where I was without my permission and now I've got a doppelganger who knows of my adventures!"

"Your adventures?" Gabrielle demanded. "Meg and Diana are _my_ friends."

Both grimaced at the exact same time in the same exact way, making both feel like they just became mirror images. "Where is my staff?" Gabby demanded. "I want to hit something so hard right now!"

"Ah, so you have a staff. And let me guess, you are the queen of the amazons, too."

"Only when Ephiny isn't," Gabby said slowly, but both went silent when they realized they both knew the extent of their memories. This wasn't a spell—they both could feel the _rightness_ of who the other was. Both were Gabrielle, the Bard of Potadeia, the amazon queen. Gabrielle bit her lip and tried, "So have you seen Xena?"

"Zeus, I hope not. Ares would be bad enough. But that psycho Xena?"

Now _that_ made Gabrielle pause. Everything was the same, but not Xena. "Okay, let me get this straight. You don't _want_ to see Xena?"

Gabby shuddered. "No way. But if I'm right, Callisto won't be long behind me. So we can just wait for her."

Now Gabrielle was shuddering. "Oh, no. It'd figure she was behind this. She spends her days figuring out ways to torment me and Xena!"

Gabby paused in confusion. "What?"

Before either could ask what she meant, suddenly the strangest warriors came running towards them. All wore helmets and gauntlets with armor, but each one had an hourglass in their armor, embedded in their red as blood breastplates. "There they are!" one yelled out, his helmet showing eyes that were cruel.

Both were reliant on their staffs, but as Xena had taught Gabrielle and as Callisto had taught Gabby, they used the surrounding area as weapons. Gabrielle climbed the tree nearby and snapped off a thin enough branch, falling to the ground in a crouch and using the branch as a staff to hit the face of the one coming for her. His armor rung with the sound. Gabby also used the environment, but she picked up six rocks and aimed each one true to hit the eyes under the helmets.

"Nice," Gabrielle complimented.

"Just something I picked up when Callisto and I were fighting Goliath."

"Xena and I fought him too! This guy named David killed him, right?"

"Um, no. Callisto killed him. David was such a twit. He more wanted to quote his bad poetry at me than to fight a giant."

Gabrielle gaped. This was different.

"Um, ladies," the leader said spreading his hands. "Not to interrupt your conversation, but just so you know, you two are from different realities. Oh, and we were capturing you. Speaking of which . . ." He snapped his fingers and the guys they had just knocked unconscious jumped to their feet, their hourglasses replenished. "You can't really stop the timeless ones. If you hit them, they just return to before they were hit. Seize them!"

Not exactly knowing how to defeat this foe, the Gabrielles put up their hands in surrender, both hoping their heroes would come and figure out the way to stop the timeless ones. Because who could fight something that wouldn't stay wounded?

And more importantly what kind of enemy would have the power of time? Because it wasn't Ares, and as both were starting to realize it wasn't the bad Xena or Callisto either. It was something worse. Something that knew about other dimensions and how to manipulate them.

And, as Gabrielle and Gabby were moved through frozen planes where time didn't move, they wondered what exactly someone with this much power wanted with them.


	4. Chapter 4

The nothingness around didn't last long. Nothingness rarely does. Nature abhors a vacuum. So the two warriors left the blank and empty space and appeared about three paces from each other, their backs facing opposite directions. Both stood there stunned, recovering from the journey but also from the sights that met their eyes. They had been deposited on a flat mountain top, and the world below was stretched out for miles. But it was a very strange vista. One village to the west was caught in perpetual snows, flurries above like an angry cloud of locusts just hovering there. But there was no sign that the snows would move on.

To the east, rains matched the snows, and in the middle village it was dry and sunny. It was almost as if the three villages were caught in winter, spring and summer. And the mountain Xena and Callisto stood on, their feet flat against the earth, exploded with autumn colors. There was no place like this in all of Greece. Verily, there was no place that could exist like this in all of the world, not so many seasons all within one hundred miles of each other.

A stray orange leaf floated lazily down, hitting Callisto in the face. She brushed it off. That whisper of a sound, caused Xena to spin around, sword ready and chakram out. Without thinking, when she saw Callisto holding a chakram herself, Xena's instinct told her to let it fly without questioning, and Callisto did as well. The two shiny weapons flew through the air until they hit the same exact spot in the air, ricocheted off each other and spun away from the Warrior Princesses.

Both stood there stunned. The chakram had always come back before. Xena sniffed, not waiting for an answer. Her enemy was right in front of her. She could look for her chakram later. "Alright, Callisto, where is Gabrielle? And remember I'm in a very bad mood."

Callisto held her sword in front of her, pointing it at her enemy. With anger rolling through her spine, she still wondered why her enemy would be interested in her sidekick. The one who had destroyed Cirra had no interest in anything but conquering. Callisto had expected her to name her ransom for Gabrielle, but what was she doing asking where she was? Did the Warrior Queen lose her own kidnapping victim?

"I don't know," she retorted. "What'd you do with her?"

Xena narrowed her eyes. "Wait, how did you get a chakram? Was it the light chakram Ares once told me about?"

Callisto hesitated and then growled. "I knew he was holding out on me! What light chakram?"

"It's rumored to kill gods," Xena retorted. "And Ares only was with you for a short while, until you were to difficult to control. He told me when I had the displeasure of being in your body that you listened to no one and were insane. Why would he let you know there was a weapon that could kill him no matter how pure you had to be to get it?"

Callisto laughed. "Have you lost what passes for your mind? Ares was my mentor ever since you destroyed my family. He taught me there were other ways of getting my revenge. Then he told_ me_ when _I_ was trapped in _your _body that you were insane and cared nothing about listening to others."

"You are so full of centaur dung," Xena retorted. "And you know what? I grow very tired of talking to you. Tell me what your plan is, and I'll make sure you'll enjoy your godhood with only one arm missing."

"You seem to have lost your mind, but okay." Callisto readied her body into an attack posture. "Maybe a dance with my sword will loosen your memory."

Then they attacked. At the same time. With the same skill. Something was wrong here, Xena mused as she parried Callisto's thrusts. She had fought with Callisto more times than she cared to remember. Callisto's style was rough, and Xena had no clue where she had learned to fight. There was some amazon training in there along with some drunken fighting she had seen in the east tied up more forms of eastern fighting with all the grace of a lumbering bear.

This time, though, Callisto fought with elegance. There was the north men style in here, the eastern, yes, but with so many others mixed in. Some very familiar fight moves—ones she knew well. Ones only Xena had ever known. It was like . . . she was fighting herself.

"You've gotten better," Callisto admitted. "When did you pick up so much? I thought you only trained in the east after your son died in the centaur village as a baby."

Xena paused in her attack, confused. If she had to guess, she'd say Callisto was insane. But this statement bore the proof of lucidity in her eyes. Callisto actually believed that Solan was dead and that Xena had only trained in the east. Normally, Xena would expect an attack with these words just trying to confuse her, but Callisto wasn't . . . right. She not only knew all these fight moves she shouldn't—or really couldn't because the last surviving member of the warriors who knew it had died teaching his only and last pupil, Xena. There was more here than she expected, and as much as she wanted to keeping fighting with Callisto until she bloodied the information out of her, she stopped and held her sword ready but in a non threatening position.

Then she noticed Callisto panting and . . . sweating. "You're not a god," Xena pointed out.

"Neither are you."

"What is going on here?"

Neither could answer, because suddenly an explosion rocked the village in summer, and a plume of deadly black smoke rose from the horizon.

"They might need help," Callisto said, surprising Xena, but she was already thinking the same thing. The two raced down the mountainside trying to find footholds that would hold them, flipping down and grabbing branches when there weren't any. And the two moved like parallel lines, down towards the village in summer.


	5. Chapter 5

The village was overcome with flames as the two heroes rushed around, looking remarkably similar in everything they did. Heroes had different ways of going. Now, Hercules, if he saw a village in trouble like this, he'd probably find a nearby water tower and knock it over, causing certain flooding and a lack of potable water for weeks after, causing no shortage of distress to said villagers. But Xena, and now Callisto, both had the same idea. As the flames in red anger licked the village huts, the two thought more of smothering the fire. Spinning into the ground in one spot, they flung up dust on the east and west sides to cover the burning houses and then running to the south and north they did the same.

While they took care of the larger flames, the villagers took matters into their own hands and snuffed the little fires out. Working together, soon the flames downgraded from dangerous to manageable. Xena saw someone that looked important. A wizened little lady, who wore a headdress of green feathers. Her face was filled with wrinkles of the ages, and she ordered the villagers around with sharp gestures and sharper eyes.

"Hello," Callisto said quickly before Xena could greet the old lady. Clearly, she thought the old woman was important too. "I'm Callisto. I saw that explosion. Care to tell me who attacked you? I see no traces of warlords or marauding Xenas." She shot a glare at Xena who rolled her icy blue eyes.

"It is a normal occurrence here. When time stops, the very essence of nature rebels."

"Excuse me, did you say time?" Xena asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Yes, we three villages have felt the touch of Chronos for many, many years. A thousand years ago, when I was but a young ruler, Chronos descended on my world. But such tales can't interest you. I see that you aren't from Prime Finite."

"What's that?" Xena asked breaking in before Callisto could open her mouth. She shot a glare at her.

"It's a long tale. And you have saved this village now. I would be honored if you broke bread with me and my sisters. My name is Ninpa, but I am the only one of my sisters who remembers her name. If you would call them Leader, they will enjoy your company."

"I'm honored for the invitation," Callisto said. "But I have to find my sidekick. Have you seen a girl? She's on the smaller side. Blonde hair? Green and brown outfit. Carries a staff?"

"No. I have not seen her. But if you come from the two Prime Infinites, then if Chronos has her, then she is in a dangerous situation."

"We would be happy to eat with you," Xena said firmly.

"You don't speak for me," Callisto retorted. "I need to find Gabrielle. And I want answers NOW!"

Xena tossed her black hair and let it settle on her shoulderplate. "You always have been a bit of an idiot, Callisto. Think." Then she whispered over her shoulder, hoping Ninpa wouldn't hear. "Information can help us know where Gabrielle is. I'm just surprised you care so much."

Callisto glared at her but huffed an ambivalent, "Thank you. Bread sounds wonderful as long as there's something else on the side."

Xena rolled her eyes again.

"It was a joke," Callisto hissed. "Gods above!"

Ninpa gestured the two past lines of villagers who watched them pass. Xena noted that these villagers were slightly different than any she'd saved in the past. They were the normal colors and shapes of course, but their eyes seemed different. There was no hope or fire or feeling in them. As if . . . as if they had all experienced the same day over and over for a very long time, and any difference—such as Xena and Callisto's arrival—was an amazing thing that they didn't exactly know what to do with, like finding a bag of dinars in an uninhabited desert.

They weren't dangerous, just lost. As Xena and Callisto entered a large hut meant for leaders, they ducked their heads to enter under a low archway and entered a completely round room with six wooden doors situated a foot apart around the room.

A large table sat decked out with food of all sorts, and six other ladies, all as old—maybe a little younger but it was hard to tell with all the wrinkles—as Ninpa. They sat as if they expected Xena and Callisto, but they looked stunned at their arrival.

"Did you, uh, do this for us?" Callisto asked.

"No, my dear, even though we would have had we known you were coming," Ninpa said and gestured them to sit down. "We were in the middle of summer solstice celebrations when Chronos came. Since then it has remained like this. Go ahead and eat. It won't diminish, and you won't be filled, but we can pretend. And if you do well enough, you might even believe."

Xena and Callisto took a seat, both feeling troubled. Sure, they had come across murdering warlords who made every excuse to cause unimaginable pain, but to come across people who couldn't even retain the essence of humanity, who couldn't eat or drink or . . . age, it seemed a bitter pill to swallow.

"Hello, Leaders," Xena and Callisto said with respect. They nodded their heads but looked towards Ninpa to speak for them. Xena wondered if they could speak at all.

"Okay, let me get this straight," Callisto said, swinging her legs over the little stool that was a part of twenty or so others around the table. "You are trapped in time, thanks to Chronos?"

"You guessed right," Ninpa said mildly.

"Then why in Tartarus are you so old? You look really, really old."

"Well, that wasn't rude at all," Xena said with a pointed look at Callisto.

"It's alright. When time doesn't pass, rudeness doesn't really matter. To answer your question, me and my sisters fought against the god of time when he arrived here. We almost won, but those timeless ones attacked, along with Chronos' son, and we could do nothing. Chronos didn't appreciate our struggle, so he cursed me and my sisters to age, the only ones around who do, but we aren't allowed to die. Does that answer your question, Callisto?"

Xena almost laughed at Callisto's blushing face. She had never seen her enemy so embarrassed. Xena quickly covered her amusement by grabbing a piece of bread and smeared a fragrant butter onto it. She bit into it, and smiled as the flavors hit her tongue, but then . . . they disappeared as if they had never been there. Just a memory of taste. She grabbed another and another, but the same thing happened. Xena hadn't realized how much food wasn't just about the taste. It was the eating in general. The swallowing. The feeling as it filled your stomach. This did nothing. It felt like nothing. Now Xena got why all the people looked so lost.

"Okay, you called this Prime Finite, and ours Prime Infinite. What did that mean?" Xena pushed the food away from her. The last thing she wanted was the empty fake food that this was.

"You two have the look of the ones from Prime Infinite."

"And what is Prime Infinite?" Callisto asked. She was more stubborn than Xena. She kept trying to eat.

"The gods may think they created the world. But there was a force above and beyond anything the gods were. Beyond the titans. Beyond the king of the gods. There was something before. And that force created multiple dimensions and universes. Choice split apart worlds. I have the ability to see these worlds. There are many out there."

"Hercules told me that Iolaus slipped into a world where Hercules was a tyrant," Xena said with realization.

"No, Gabreille slipped into that world," Callisto argued.

"I think I know what happened," Xena spit back.

"No. Both events happened," Ninpa interjected. "In Callisto's world, Gabrielle was with Hercules that day and she met herself the Executioner and they switched places. In Xena's, Hercules sidekick went over there. In that dimension, the life forces are so linked that when one dies in one world, the other person dies at the same time. But there are infinite more worlds that aren't linked. The one that Gabrielle and Iolaus went into was called the Linked Infinite. But, yes, both happened. Just like in Xena's world, Solan her only son didn't die as a baby, and she went on to meet up with Gabrielle who changed her view of life. While in Callisto's world, Solan died and sent that Xena into a life of rage and hate, so it was Callisto who, on her path of vengeance, saved Gabrielle from being Draco's slave. It was the two of them who teamed up to stop the villain Xena. Despite minor differences, your adventures are the same."

Xena and Callisto sat back and stared at each other. This was almost insane.

But since insanity was a regular meal for the two, they got over it quickly.


	6. Chapter 6

Ninpa's story had made the two warriors' heads spin, and neither could actually fathom it. According to Ninpa, in Callisto's world, Xena had come across her in Cirra and destroyed the village, but what had divided the realities was Gabrielle. Xena had decided to wait a little longer before taking on Hercules after Solan's death, so she was delayed in meeting up with Gabrielle when Draco tried to sell her as a slave. So in that world, Callisto instead saved Gabrielle and taught her to be a warrior. Meanwhile, Xena had tried to go home, and her own village had tried to stone her, so the evil Xena had returned and had killed the villagers and her own mother, which put her on a path of no return.

"Unbelievable," Xena said. "Who knew that I would have killed them all. I thought I was going to allow them to stone me."

"Well, Xena had lost everything," Callisto pointed out. "When she went on a rampage, poisoning villages' water wells and killing everyone in sight, Gabrielle and I stopped her and sent her to prison."

"And you met Joxer then too?" Xena guessed.

"Yes. Then Xena escaped from prison and decided to get revenge on me for putting her there, and then Ares switched our bodes . . ."

"I know the rest," Xena said with a wrinkled nose. "I just don't like this alternate form of events."

"There are many, many more," Ninpa pointed out, as she leaned against a pillow on the floor. Once they had all gotten sick of eating and not feeling full, the five other ladies and Ninpa and Callisto and Xena had retired to the floor which was covered in soft pillows. "Every time you make a relevant choice, and the outcome is different a world is created. That is what is meant by Prime Infinite. You have infinite possibilities. We were like that once, but when Chronos came in, our time stopped. Our possibilities ended. We have no other futures."

"Yes, about Chronos . . ." Xena said, leaning forward eagerly. "How do we find him?"

"You can't find the master of time. But since he has gone through the trouble of kidnapping your friends, my guess is that he will find you." Ninpa shrugged. "I wish I could tell you what his plan is, but I don't know. I'll never wager a guess on his thoughts. He is my enemy and always will be. If you do figure out what he wants, and need my help, you can always return. In the meantime, I have to go and check on my baby. She has been two years old for thousands of years. The terrible twos forever, think about that. Little Lyarna was hard when I was a forty year old but almost impossible as old as I am. But I will take care of her for eternity."

Callisto jumped up, ready to get going, to do something. Then she noticed that Xena hadn't moved. She was staring after the old lady who had stood up and shuffled off and the other women had followed to give a hand to their sister.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Well, it's just strange. But my mother was a beast about making me learn family trees. She believed strongly in kin. I would spend hours memorizing those tables—it was why I joined the gangs in Amphipolis when I did."

"Yes, and that is so important here, why?"

"Lyarna was the first one on the family tree. Before that the records weren't kept. Lyarna was the one who started keeping records."

"So, you're saying that Ninpa . . ."

"I'm not sure what I'm saying. Lyarna isn't the most unusual of names, right?"

"She did have those blue eyes," Callisto said. "So . . . in this world, Xena never existed, because her line was stopped here and now?"

"It looks that way," Xena said and shook her head. Then she stared into the deep browns of Callisto's eyes. "Look, I know what Ninpa said. And I know your history differs from mine, but in my world, Callisto killed Gabrielle's husband . . ."

"And in mine Xena did."

"I just . . . you really lost all that vengeance when you met Gabrielle?"

"Yes, she has a certain way about her. As you well know. She's worth losing vengeance for."

"Yes, she is."

Both women pursed their lips and stared each other down, knowing exactly how important the Gabrielles were to each other, and it didn't sit well with either. Xena couldn't quite fathom a world where the most pure person she had ever met would think she was the villain and Callisto was her special partner—her soulmate.

How could Xena trust this Callisto when she looked at her and saw an enemy?

But she had no choice. If Ninpa was right, and Xena guessed she was, Chronos had something in mind when he kidnapped the Gabrielles. She had to at least see if she could figure out where he was. And Callisto was in on this. Her . . . friend was also captured. They both had stakes in this, and they both had to figure out what was going on.

"If it makes you feel any better, I expect you to stab me in the back just as much as you expect me to," Callisto said sounding actually friendly. "Let's see if we can get out of the border of these time controlled lands. Maybe some outer edges have some pockets where time actually flows. Then maybe we catch some real dinner that we feel in our stomachs."

Xena nodded decisively. "That's an excellent idea. Maybe I can find some rabbit or something."

"Rabbit?" Callisto exclaimed. "Are you serious? You eat those cute little things?"

Xena blinked. "Yes. Why, what do you eat?"

"Depends on what I catch, but my favorite is rat."

Xena shook her head. "Okay, so our realities are very, very different."

"Not our Gabrielles though."

Xena laughed. "That's comforting."

But Xena would be surprised to find out how different Gabrielle had grown under Callisto's tutelage, and across the frozen in time land, they sat, prisoners of the god of time.


	7. Chapter 7

Across the timeless lands, there stood a tall tower like building with two towers squashed next to it. Through the many corridors and hallways, and past the large stone walls, there was a singular room with a giant glass hourglass inside it. An hourglass without sand, that is, but with two very bored bards.

Gabby pounded on the glass once again. "Let us out! We're cold and we're hungry!"

"It's not that cold in here," Gabrielle said reasonably as she sat trying her best to write on a scrap of parchment that had been in her pocket. This story was begging to be told, but the room on her parchment was quickly running out.

"I know!" Gabby said with a roll of her eyes. "I just want someone to come. I feel just a tiny bit insulted, don't you? Whoever captured us hasn't even come to make faces at us. I mean, isn't that what bad guys do? When Xena captured me, she wouldn't leave me alone both times. That adviser to the king when Callisto was blind, he met me personally. Manus also told me exactly why I was captured. Now?" She banged on the glass again. "I want to know why we're here!"

Gabrielle finished her parchment and gave an exasperated sigh. "It's obvious. We're bait. Xena did a similar thing when she was trying to kill Hercules. Though, she tricked Iolaus and didn't capture him. Since we're left alone here with nothing to do and just waiting, it seems whoever captured us wants your Callisto and my Xena to come after us into some kind of trap."

"And you're alright with that?" Gabby demanded.

"Not at all. I just don't think we can do anything by yelling and screaming. I'm not even sure our voices can be heard outside this glass. So let's be patient and meditate or something. I've heard about some practices that make you go out of your body and into your mind. It's my fondest desire to visit those lands one day."

"I know, mine too," Gabby admitted. "What else is similar about us? I know, I have Callisto and you have Xena, but so far that seems the only thing different."

"Minus our temperaments," Gabrielle said mildly. Gabby glared at her.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I've been writing. You've been screaming. You see what I mean? Don't you have a spare piece of parchment?"

Gabby looked embarrassed. "Oh . . . I don't really write a lot these days. Who wants to say, dear parchment, today I almost died again."

"I do. Those are the best stories!"

Gabrielle and Gabby stared at each other. "Okay," Gabby said. "Besides our personalities, what else is different? Hm, let's see. Ah! Hercules and Iolaus. You know them, right?"

Gabrielle blushed. "Yeah, me and Iolaus almost shared something."

"Oh, ew! Are you freaking kidding me here? Iolaus? He's old enough to be my father or maybe my grandfather."

"He's not that old!" Gabrielle defended. "He has a certain charm about him."

"That he's used on countless women. Are you insane? Oh, right of course you are. Xena is your best friend."

That got Gabrielle up. "Don't talk about my best friend that way!"

"Finally, now you sound like me!" Gabby held her hands up. "Alright, let's try to get along."

"And now you sound like me," Gabrielle said and then grinned. "It's hard looking in a mirror to your other self, the self you could have been, isn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah. Okay. So . . . Argh!" Gabby screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Oh, here we go again," Gabrielle said closing her eyes and returning to her seat.

But this time Gabby's yells seemed to have done the trick. A large wooden door far across the empty, minus the hourglass, room opened and the strangest guy walked in. He wore a multicolored checkered robe on his muscular form. Bright ebony hair fell down to his feet and it moved with him. Or maybe it didn't move at all. It seemed caught in a timeless dance, like wind from the past hit it but then stilled just as fast. His face was fresh, showing that he was no older than twenty, but his eyes were fathomless, dark pupils swimming in a pool of white.

"Hey, quiet down," he said not looking at either of them. "Your yells echo throughout the silent castle."

"Good," Gabby retorted. "Who are you? Why have you captured us? And I am hungry. Give us something to eat."

"Manners!" Gabrielle hinted.

"Oh, right. Please. Now."

The guy blinked and finally looked at them. "Oh, uh, my name is Epoch. I wasn't the one who captured you. And you wouldn't enjoy the food I'd give you anyway."

"But . . . I'm hungry. I don't care if you give me a boiled chicken. I've eaten badly before. I've eaten a whole loaf of Callisto's bread after all, and Callisto's bread is basically charcoal."

Gabrielle shook her head. "You sound desperate."

"No, no," Epoch said. "Time doesn't move. So you won't get filled."

"Then how are any of us moving around?" Gabrielle asked, getting to her feet.

He gave her a glance and then smiled foolishly. "We can all live, but that's about all my father allows. We can't eat or be . . . satiated in any other way." He blushed and looked away.

Gabby looked back and forth between the two of them. If she didn't know better, she could swear that Epoch was flirting with the other Gabrielle! But . . he hadn't even noticed her! Weren't they identical?

"Who is you father?" Gabby asked, trying to get him to answer more questions.

"Chronos, the god of time."

Both of the Gabrielles gasped at that.

Suddenly, the very air wriggled from a voice yelling, "Epoch, return to me!"

He cringed. "Looks like Dad doesn't want me talking to you. Sorry. Sorry about the food and everything. Could I, uh, come back and talk to you?" He only looked at Gabrielle when he said this, causing Gabby to grind her teeth.

"Sure. I'd love to hear more about your father," Gabrielle said and smiled back. He ran out the door he came in but not before sending a longing look towards Gabrielle. Then he was gone.

"Well, that was gross," Gabby noted. "Do you always flirt with your captor's son?"

"I was not flirting." Gabrielle huffed and sat down again, turning her parchment over. She hated to do it, but she had to use the back. "I want to know more. The fact that it's Chronos that captured us has made this much more interesting."

"Does that always happen to you? I mean, I've had quiet a bit of guys falling at my feet. Talus liked me too much. I was glad he died when he did. And Perdicas? Sheesh. I told him I left Potadeia to get rid of him as well as travel, but he still thought I wanted to marry him. If it weren't for that vision I had I wouldn't have married him at all."

Gabrielle gaped at her. "You married him thanks to a vision?"

"I've always been in love with . . . someone else. I didn't want to marry him. But when I saw that Callisto was going to die if I didn't . . . Well, I hated losing my childhood friend, but I would have hated losing Callisto more."

Gabrielle twisted a lock of her blonde hair around her fingers. Suddenly, she realized how much can change when circumstances do. And this was going down a path she'd rather not tread. To think that Gabby was so different from her. Or was she really so different?

"Well, every guy I meet either falls for me or Xena," Gabrielle said. "It's actually kind of strange. I don't know. Maybe Aphrodite threw a curse at us or something."

"Strange curse."

"The point is, I hope Epoch does like me. I'll certainly encourage it. Because we need to get out of here. Whatever Chronos has planned, I don't want Xena to walk into his trap. And nothing's better than a smitten man to help a maiden get out of jail free."

"Ah, you're more conniving than I thought. But I guess I should have known. You're me after all!" They both chuckled, and Gabby searched her pockets for some parchment. She needed to get back to writing. This adventure was getting too interesting for words!


	8. Chapter 8

_Author Note: Fearforget is very sorry for the lack of updates. There's been a lot going on, and it's not very happy stuff. But there's no reason to make excuses. Hopefully, there will be more frequent updates. And here the story continues. _

Xena and Callisto made the slow trek down the abandoned roads. It looked like the time trapped villages were also physically trapped, as there were no travelers on the roads or traffic between the villages.

"You know," Callisto mentioned as she put one foot in front of the other, watching the pebbles underneath stay in one place. "I hate roads. I usually stay in the trees because the walked path is the most used. Crowds all going in one direction or the other, but right now I wish for at least one traveler. One person pushing their cart down the road! One smelly traveler I have to hold my nose against as they walked past. This is so wrong!"

Xena wholeheartedly agreed, but she wasn't about to tell Callisto that. One never really realized how empty life was without other travelers getting in the way. Though Xena did prefer it like this. If she just had Gabrielle and Argo, this would be the most pleasant of traveling situations.

Callisto was quiet for a few minutes. Then she shot a look at Xena. "Did your Callisto really destroy so many people? I mean, I know how dark I was going, but I never thought . . . I didn't think I was that bad."

Xena wrinkled her nose. "Neither did I. Remember, I went bad in your world. It was always Solan that did it. When he died in my world . . . I saw that demon in my face. Didn't you and Gabrielle have a similar experience?"

Callisto didn't answer. "I guess. We almost came to blows, but we went to Illusia. A few dozen songs later, and we were friends again."

Xena didn't like thinking about that whole time. She could never be sure it was real or fake, and when she and Gabrielle had headed back to the Amazon village, they never said a thing about Xena breaking Ephiny's arm or trying to kill their queen. She had to believe the whole thing was just part of Illusia, but Xena's descent into madness was real. "Do you have a son?"

Callisto shook her head. Her blonde hair swished over her shoulder, still glowing in the unmoving overhead sun. "I've never been . . . that close with a man. No. I've never had children."

"Then what happened? Hope, Gabrielle's daughter, killed my son. That set me off. But without a son, how did you . . .?"

There was no mistaking the judgment in Xena's voice. Callisto caught it and gritted her teeth. "I actually killed Dahak's evil spawn straight out of the gate. That made Gabrielle so angry she tried to kill_ me_. That's when Hope brought us to Illusia."

Xena froze in place. "What?" Ice gripped her soul. "But Hope was evil . . . she had no choice but to be evil."

"Not in my world." Ah, so Callisto too could judge as harshly. "Hope was just a baby. Her father's evil only touched her because of circumstances. What happened in your world? Did Gabrielle have the baby?"

Xena couldn't answer. She herself had forced Gabrielle to abandon Hope. She herself had forced the situation so that Hope couldn't be good. Xena shook her head. Thiswas all justspeculation. In Callisto's world people ate rats! Hope couldn't have been . . .good.

Xena hated when she got like this. It was bad enough the evil she knew she did do without heaping more what ifs on top of her already weary head. "I am really not interested in telling you the differences of our worlds, Callisto. When I look at your face, I don't see a hero. I see the demon who helped Hope kill my child."

"Well, I see the woman who killed my family," Callisto spit back. "Do you realize that the sun is not going to set, and that we've been traveling for hours and hours?" She quickly changed the subject. "I want to hunt up some grub and then see if I can sleep in midday."

"I will do the same," Xena spat back. Then the two warriors separated, both pretty much irritated with who they had with them. Xena wondered how much more of this she could take. Not only was Callisto a representation of pain in Xena's past but also she represented a different path. What might have been if Xena had given Callisto more of a chance. Xena never like wallowing in guilt. She was doing her best to make up for what she had done, but her past always like smacking her in the face. And this new adventure had two gigantic hands.

"Greetings." A voice startled Xena, which wasn't good. Xena never let her guard down and always expected the worst. So why did she nearly jump out of her skin at the appearance of a man? He was wearing a long woolen robe with gems around the collar. On his head was a crown of hourglasses, all filled in different measures. Some were full. Others were empty. His face wasn't friendly, though he smiled. He was the most attractive man she had ever seen, and she knew. He was no man. He was a god.

"Chronos, I presume." Xena had her chakram out and her sword ready, but she knew neither would do much good against the god of time.

"You're brilliant. I always liked you better than Callisto the Warrior Princess to be honest. I watched a lot of your adventures."

Xena gritted her teeth and let her chakram fly. It buzzed an over head branch off its tree, but it stayed in midair.

Chronos smiled. His hair grew and shortened in seconds. His ultra clear eyes showed universes inside. "Ah, you are trying to trap me. Let me remind you, I am time. It falls when I say it does. It moves at my command. Gravity is a force as nothing when compared to time."

"What do you want? Where is Gabrielle? Both of them."

"Well, that is up to you. At the same time I'm telling you this, I'm telling Callisto. And I mean the exact time. It is wonderful when you can do as you wish, isn't it? I've called you here because I need your help, and I really didn't think I could just ask. I asked Thoon in both times to fight you both at the same time so that I could transport you here. It took two warrior princesses fighting at the same space and time for me to make my behest. You see, long ago when the gods were fighting, my brethren were put inside Tartarus, but I was left alone. I enjoyed messing up time. The gods would make a creation and then I'd rewind time and unmake it. I messed up their lives."

"Yay, the villain monologue. How I have missed it," Xena said dry pan.

"A little jaded, are we?"

"Only when I have to listen to all this backstory before you tell me why you kidnapped my friend."

Chronos smiled, stepped back and let the tree fall. Then he rested on the big branch and gestured Xena to sit next to him. She stayed put. "Long story short, the gods came together to trap me in Prime Finite. Here I can control time but I can't leave. I also can't rewind time."

"The gods have no brains. Didn't they care about the people already living here?"

"Gods never do when they have a problem. You see? We're on the same side. You listen to me and let me back to my real world, Prime Infinite, and I can pay them back. I'll be on the side of the mortals. Just think, Ares does something stupid. I rewind it and he whines. I'll be at the mortals' commands."

Xena ran her fingers through her hair. One eyebrow rose as she stared at him. "It can't be that simple. I've seen the result of what you've done to these villages. I can't risk that in my world."

"So cut and dry?" he asked, rubbing his jaw.

"This time, yes it is. You're a monster. Let the villages go on and try and find life here."

Chronos smiled. "Then we'll try this another way. If you don't listen to me I'll kill Gabrielle. You have one chance to save her. At the end of this realm, where time flows freely, there are the sands of infinity." He gestured to one of the hourglasses on his crown. It was empty. "If I refill this with those sands, then I'll be free and so will you and Gabrielle. You have no choice if you want her back or even if you want to leave this world at all. And, oh, by the way, I have told you that I'm telling this to Callisto as well? Well, it's a contest. First one to get the sands, gets her Gabrielle and freedom from this timeless world. Your choice, Xena."

Then he was gone. Xena wished she was stronger. If she were, she'd return to the village, find a way to save it and continue her search for redemption. She should forget Gabrielle and remember the greater good. But right now she was weak. And she couldn't lose Gabrielle.

Which was why she started running. She would get the sand before Callisto. Chronos could mark his time by that.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Chronos had been telling the truth. He had offered the same deal to Callisto, who also ran off, intent on saving Gabrielle and getting the sand before Xena. Both warriors had been touched by the bard, and neither could just forget about her. It's funny how a debt to the world can be erased when someone's loved one is in danger.

While they both ran, the two Gabrielles were getting very bored. Gabby had rediscovered her love for the quill, but there was no ink to write with or scrolls to write on. So both had resorted to a favorite game of both.

"Are you from the land of the rising sun?" Gabby asked kicking at a stray rock on the ground.

"Nope. One more guess."

"Don't need one. You're Joxer!"

Gabrielle sighed. "You know, this game is fun when the person can't guess what the other person is thinking, but when we have the same minds, it's much harder." She sighed again and got up to pace. "I wish Xena would hurry up and save me."

"You mean, you can't wait for Callisto to save us. Xena, no offense, isn't the best warrior in the world." Gabby stood and started practicing with her imaginary staff. Gabrielle's ire was raised, though.

"She's better than Callisto in any world. Sorry." Gabrielle patted Gabby's shoulder with utmost patronizing.

Gabby spun around, holding her fists out. "No, she isn't. Xena couldn't win against Callisto."

"Oh, yes she could. Callisto, no matter what, couldn't wipe the floor with my aunt."

Gabby gritted her teeth. "Xena couldn't wipe the floor with _an_ ant."

Both looked ready to spit nails at each other, but then both sighed. "This isn't helping," Gabrielle pointed out.

"Then what will? At least fighting could have been interesting. I could see where my weaknesses are."

"That," Gabrielle said and put an innocent expression on her face. She pointed towards the guy who was coming in. Chronos' son was back.

"Hi," he said. He held out a tray of something that glowed. "This is ambrosia. I thought you must desire food, so I dug this out of my father's cold storage area. You won't turn into gods—time and all, but you will feel satiated at least for food." He opened up a small square in the glass. Gabrielle nudged Gabby. That might be their ticket out of here.

"Oh, thank you!" Gabrielle said and ran over to him. "Don't close it so fast," she added touching his arm. He smiled and stuttered his next words.

"O-oh, o-okay." Epoch wasn't a bad looking god, but he didn't exactly have experience with the ladies.

Which was why Gabrielle was going to play him like a lyre. "So, Epoch . . . we hate being so cooped up. Couldn't you . . . let us out?" She gave him a dazzling smile. He would have fainted, but he brought his courage back.

"I can't . . . If I knew how I would, but Chronos doesn't share stuff with me. If he knew I was even talking to you . . ."

"Then go away," Gabby said. She was sick of being ignored. She grabbed the ambrosia and munched a bit.

"Wait," Gabrielle said, shooting a glare at Gabby. How could her own self be so hostile? "If you can't help us out, can you at least tell us what Chronos wants with us?"

"You're bait." He blinked a few times, the light from the torches shining in his fathomless eyes. "Your heroes are similar. One twist of fate, and they shared the same lives in different worlds. As they came here, they were in the midst of conflict, which made them aggravated. They lost their soulmates, the two of you . . . And I can see why." He smiled bashfully at Gabrielle. Gabby rolled her eyes. "That made them illogical. And now he puts them in a competition for you. That will make them desperate. As they try and save you, they will come to blows. Two such great strengths will shake this world, and Chronos will be able to widen a gap in the bars of his prison."

Gabrielle looked at him with horror. "But Xena would never put me over the greater good."

"Neither would Callisto," Gabby said firmly.

"They have. Sometimes a person in our lives is more important than anything, even the greater good."

Gabrielle bit her lip. "Is there a way for this to end well? Please, Epoch. You're not like Chronos. I can tell."

Epoch frowned. "The only way would be for your heroes to work together. If they do, they would be able to find the hidden temple which holds the weapon of time—it is a scythe blessed by death. With it, the heroes can strike down even my father. But I'm afraid they won't even look for it. They have been set on fire, and they'll do anything to douse it."

"Can you tell them?" Gabrielle asked.

Gabby also reached out and took his hand. With both bards pleading with him, their eyes begging, Epoch couldn't say no. He had always resented his father and the timeless lands control. He had wanted to free the villages, but he had never had the guts. But he had never actually stared into the face of the victims of his father before. Suddenly, he couldn't take it any longer. "I'll tell them. If I'm in time . . ."

With the sound of clock ticking, Epoch was gone. The glass square sealed up again and the Gabrielles stared at each other. "Well, I really wish I could be there with my staff," Gabby said.

"Me, too. In the meantime, I have faith that Xena will save the day . . . Oh and Callisto will, um, be an equal part in that saving." She gave a wry smile, and Gabby laughed.

"I'm an optimist. When you're on the side of good, everything works out. So let's eat. Ambrosia tastes like marshmallows. Who knew?"

Gabrielle took a piece and both sat there in the hourglass, waiting. It was funny. Only time would tell if everything worked out, but here time was stopped.

The world around seemed to take a breath together, and it was held.


End file.
